Stay With Me
by RogueStar
Summary: A H/C story about Warden and Jailbot; an RP turned fanfiction. Written by Pirka and myself.
1. Chapter 1

Early morning in Superjail. The sun raised over the uber-huge jail, it's light touching ever little nook and cranny of the overly child-like buildings. For the inmates that were lucky enough to have a window in their cells, it was one of the 'nice' things to wake up to in the place; nice for a moment until something really horrible happens. That was to be expected on a day to day basis. As for the staff of Superjail, mornings were nothing more then your usual 'getting up and going to work' scenario. Alice & Jared were normally the first to be seen walking around the halls, and Jailbot would sometimes not go into sleep mode during the night depending on the situation. As for the Warden, he got up whenever, and no one had anything to say about it. However, on this day, noon had pass, and there still wasn't a Warden to be seen.

Jared sat in the break room - which seemed to be a misnomer, as he never was truly given said 'break' - writing down one or another piece of data on one or another piece of his seemingly-perpetual flow of paperwork; his hands moved quickly and his pencil was nothing more than a blur that whizzed across the paper. In actuality, his mind was on something else entirely. He looked nervously at his watch, still writing rapidly with the other hand. 12:15 sharp. Still no sign of the Warden. 12:17 - still no Warden.

Jared's pencil snagged and snapped. He flinched at the sound, jumping an impressive half-inch off of his seat. Looking down at the now-ruined property visa, he allowed himself to catch his breath. He dropped his pencil onto the round table, pushed in his chair, gave a jittery sigh and decided to check on the condition of his late employer.

Two flights of candy-colored stairs later, Jared finally had made it to his master's quarters. He gently put an ear to the door. He didn't want to say anything in case the Warden was simply sleeping in, so he grasped the doorknob and squeezed in close, parallel to the door, to hear any sign of stirring.

The only sound that could be heard was what sounded like the Warden tossing and turning in his bed, with some occasional moaning and groaning.

Jared listened intently in his bunkered-down position for over a minute. The Warden definitely did not sound like he was simply sleeping. Jared pushed the door open just a crack, making sure not to make any noise. One could never be too careful with the Warden.

Jared witnessed his boss still in bed, but his covers were twisted and thrown about, along with his pillows and under sheet. He was laying on his back without a pillow under his head, with one hand resting palm up on his forehead. He looked sweating and uncomfortable. He didn't seem to notice Jared peeking in either.

Jared took a cautious step forward, but then threw that out the window and simply dashed towards the Warden's bed - quickly, but quietly, his little feet making nary a sound, though the same could not be said for his heartbeat. He began to put his hand up on the Warden's bed, but stopped himself. Verbal was best.

"S-s-ir...is everything alright...?" He spoke in a volume lower than his usual, just in case.

At first Jared's words didn't register. There a slight delayed reaction as the Warden's eyes shot open. He took a few deep breaths before turning his head to see who was in his bedroom.

"Jared? What the hell are you doing in my room?" His question was meant to sound angry, but it come out more tired and dazed then anything. He rubbed his forehead, making another groaning sound.

Jared's voice quickly shot up to its normal tone. "P-pardon my intrusion, sir, but...you haven't come down yet and it seems that you don't seem to be yourself so I came to check on you...and..." His words came out frantically but they were grouped together sloppily. In all honesty, the poor little man had no idea what to say.

Warden just looked at his accountant with a irritated sneer. He sat up on his bed and glanced the clock sitting on his nightstand. It was reading a little past 12:30. Even that seemed late for him.

He signed before looking back at Jared. "You can leave now Jared." He said in rather flat tone; not very 'Warden' of him at all.

Jared awaited his response, nodding at nothing in particular until the Warden spoke. "Right away, sir. Do you...er, want me to bring you anything?"

Warden gave Jared that 'look'; the one that said, 'do it now, or else'. "No, Jared. Just..." He stopped, shaking his head slightly. He rested his forehead in his hands.

"I just have a bad headache. Get out!"

"Y-y-es, I understand..." Jared began to back away slowly, but the Warden's 'do not disturb' glare made his slow act quickly quicken in pace. He very nearly slammed the door in his rush, but caught it and quietly put it into place with a faint click.

Jared wiped the sweat off his forehead and began to walk to his office to finish his work. 'That way,' He thought, 'I can keep a closer watch on my boss.' As he trotted down the warped hallway, Jared couldn't help but feel that something in the Warden's eyes showed more than a simple headache. It wasn't unlike him to try to shrug off such things, but, when left unattended, they could cause him to snap. When he snapped, Jared usually wasn't far behind.

Sitting down neatly in his office chair, Jared resumed writing.

A few minutes had already passed when Jared was forced to leave his room. Warden flopped back down on his bed, staring up at the top of his canopy.

It was more then just a headache. He barely got a wink of sleep last night. His head pounded with a numbing pain and he felt warm. At first he dismissed it as nothing, but it's been lingering for hours now. He rolled out of bed, his knees hitting the floor with a dull thud. He stood up, and he felt woozy. He placed his hands on the side of his bed so not to fall over. "...Shit." He muttered to himself.

He felt his forehead then headed to his personal bathroom on the other side of the room. He got a good look in the mirror. He took off his glasses, which he normal never takes off, and stared at himself for a good long while. His eyes were milky and glazed over. His skin was more pale then usual. After a while, he leaned forward and rested his head on the glass, his breath fogging up the mirror.

'...Something ain't right' He thought to himself.


	2. Chapter 2

Though Superjail had a conventional prison yard, it was full of vast spaces were inmates could really just do whatever the hell they wanted. They weren't exactly 'safe' in said places, but most of them didn't really care. Someone was cut open here, another was snatched up by a wandering monstrosity there.

Bird and his keeper, Gary, the top of the proverbial prison food-chain, kept watch from the sidelines.

In the corridors of Superjail's numerous cell blocks,where rows upon rows of inmates were kept, Alice made her daily rounds. Nothing in particular was on her mind. Every so often, she'd give a stern look to an unruly-looking prisoner; usually, however, she would simply walk by, beating her club up and down in her meaty fist.

Jailbot wasn't really in a particular, defining mood. In comparison to human emotions, one could say he was almost bored. His luminescent face held a neutral, uninterested expression as he floated lazily down the hall.

Why wasn't he being given any commands? Jailbot wasn't Jailbot when he wasn't in pursuit of something or other. Though a robot, he felt an odd emptiness on this particular day. It was almost as if a certain line of code was missing, but he knew that couldn't be it...

It was something...no, someone that was missing.

Jailbot would have been shifting uneasily from foot to foot if he had any feet to speak of.

The Warden did his best to go throughout the day with his head feeling like it was about to explode. As the warden he didn't really have any 'work' to do. Work was the staff's job. He gave orders. That was his job. But today he was quiet. Barely a word, and that was just... odd.

Jared was busy with paperwork, Alice was doing her thing; there was only one staff member that took real notice.

Jailbot was hovering down one of the many gray toned hallways that separated the containment cells from the others when the familiar sound of fancy dress shoes entered his hearing sensors. The Warden was walking, or more like dragging his feet towards Jailbot. He head was down and a hand was holding it up.

The robot sparked a happy face and zoomed over to his creator. But he didn't even can noticed of him, walking past him in a pale sweat.

It didn't take long for Jailbot to realize that something was wrong, but upon seeing his 'Father' in this state, the specific details of the situation whizzed through his mind. Green letters turned to red. This could be serious.

He made a melancholy whirring sound, his face now clearly in its 'frowning' expression. He followed behind the Warden, hoping that he would turn around and give him a request, a command - SOME way he could give assistance and love.

As the Warden turned a corner, rubbing his forehead with the back of his hand, Jailbot dashed directly in front of him. He gave a quizzical, worried beep that was accompanied by a gingerly lifted claw.

"Jailbot, move." Warden said. Another rush of pain hitting his already woozy head. He swayed a bit. His robot didn't move, so he just walked around him.

Jailbot turned, his body able to rotate on an axis fairly well. His side brushed the Warden as he rotated around to face him. He didn't mean to do that, but at least he got the attention he was seeking. A little green pixel fell down from one of his eyes.

Warden started walking away but stopped to noticed Jailbot trailing behind him. He sighed.

"What do you want? Can't you see I'm-" He stopped like he had to think of the right word for it. "...I'm tired. I'm going to head to room. Stop following me."

Yes, he was tired, but that wasn't the only thing, and Jailbot could sense it.

If the simply designed yet complex robot had the ability to shake his head, he would have done so at that very moment. He refrained from shaking his body - the results probably wouldn't be what he had in mind. His square eyes blinked slowly. He thought the situation through. The Warden wanted to be left alone, but Jailbot knew that he had to go against his wishes for his own safety. It was a hard thing for a machine to comprehend, but Jailbot wasn't any ordinary machine.

He slowly extended a mechanical arm with a soft grinding noise, hesitating slightly before pulling it out all the way. He floated forward, resting a clamp on the Warden's shoulder as gently as he could, as if to say that he knew there was more to the Warden's ailment than simply being tired.

However, Warden mistook Jailbot kind gesture as a way to get his attention. He swung around, slapping the clamp off.

"I said go away! I don't feel like-" His outburst was a little to much for his head to bear. He gripped his head, stumbled a bit forward before losing all his balance and felling towards Jailbot. Thankfully, the robot had the reflexes to catch his creator before he hit the ground.

A startled Jailbot now held his 'father' in his claw-like arms. He gently wrapped the metal arms around him in little ringlets, tight enough to keep the Warden steady but not so tight as to hurt him - at least, that's what Jailbot hoped. He lifted the unconscious body to face level, analyzing it.

The Warden looked sickly and very, very pale. His mouth was slack; his eyes were loosely shut and his limbs dangled freely like noodles.

Jailbot made a mournful tinkling sound as he prepared to try his best to make the situation better. He started up the stairs.


	3. Chapter 3

Warden was out like a light. He didn't realize he was being carried by his faithful robot. When he fainted, he was off in another world. His head throbbed in pain and his body felt like it was burning, but he wasn't aware of that at the moment.

He had drifted into a dream, a recalling of something long ago. It was dark at first, but then a blurry image formed in the man's mind, of a place he had long forgotten. His old childhood bedroom. He was seeing through his own eyes, witnessing himself, as a child, curled up in his tiny wooden bed, shivering and wrapped up in a thick blanket. His child-self made small whimpering sounds, fighting off the same pain Warden was experiencing right now.

'...That's right.' Warden mused to himself. 'I used to get high fevers as a kid...'

He stopped thinking to himself when he saw his child-self sit up in bed, wearing cute little one piece PJs, but panting and trembling.

The little boy carefully climbed out of the bed, his little feet just reaching the floor. Taking his blanket with him he walked out a open bedroom door. He didn't seem to notice his grown-up self standing that watching him.

Warden decided to follow.

Outside of the Warden's fever-induced dream scape, Jailbot had reached his master's bedroom. Gently peeling away the sheets and comforter, the Warden's loyal friend lowered his creator onto the mattress, carefully retracting his arms from under the Warden's shoulders and resting his head on a violet cushion.

There were still no signs of true consciousness. Jailbot could sense a heartbeat and beads of sweat rolled down the Warden's forehead. Every so often, he took in a labored breath.

Jailbot, frowning with concern, backed away from the bed - accidentally smashing part of the wall behind him in the process, but it was no time to be concerned about such things - and went to prepare some way to cool his master off.

Warden's body tossed and turned a little while on his bed, but in his mind he was following himself down the long dim lit hallways of his Father's house when he grew up. The walls were adored with pictures of old family members, cherry wood siding and some statue busts of his Father.

Warden looked at one of the statues as he passed by it. He tried to smile, but suddenly remembered how his Father treated him whenever he was suffering with a fever. He turned back to see the little version of himself knocking on his Father's bedroom door. His little hands barely made a sound as they hit the big elaborate double doors.

"...Faaather?" He spoke up. His little voice made Warden's brow bend into a sad expression. He knew what was coming.

The child knocked a few more times before his Father came and opened both doors, clearly irradiated for getting woken up. He looked down at his son, wrapped in his blanket and suddenly looking scared.

"What is it, boy? I was fast asleep. This better be good." The Prison Mogul barked.

The child shivered, either from fear of the fever, it was hard to tell. "...I don't feel well, Father."

The round man growled under his breath. "What do you expect me to do about it?! Just sleep it off. You don't see me getting sick, do you? That's a sign of weakness, boy."

His Father continued out with his winded lecture, while his son just stood there taking it, making sniffing sounds. Warden just stood there, watching this memory play out, until his Father finally finished and slammed the door in this son's face.

The Warden watched as his child-self just turned away and walked back towards his bedroom, crying silently.

---

Jailbot was moving as quickly as he could. His entire body was whirring. Despite his size, Jailbot could move extremely quickly - he was designed for pursuit, after all.

He zoomed into Superjail's massive freezer, dangling a bucket in one claw. He collected ice with swift, calculated movements, sweeping the bucket underneath him. As quick as a flash, he worked his way back up to where the Warden stirred, bathing in sweat. Three or so inmates were plowed over in the process.

Jailbot crashed up through the floor this time - he'd fix it afterward - took a monogrammed towel from the Warden's ensuite bathroom, wrapped the ice in it and began to pulverize it with a hammer that was attached to one of his numerous arms. Soon, the ice inside the rolled-up towel was the consistency of a snow cone. Jailbot beeped in approval as he went from viciously pulverizing the ice to oh-so-gently placing the towel on his master's forehead, patting it slightly.

The cool sensation of the ice caused the Warden to slowly stir in his sleep, but he still didn't come to. He was still deep in a dream state, following his younger self back to his old bedroom.

It was like watching an old home movie but you were right there, retracing the same footsteps from the past. He watched as the child, still wiping away the tears, made it back to his bed and climbed back up in it.

Warden stood in the doorway, still unnoticed in his own dream. He walked in the bedroom and made his way to 'himself' in the bed. His child-self was face down in the pillows, making it wet with tears. Every other moment he would hear a faint, muffled sob. He stepped back as the boy turned his head towards him, but they were still closed, and now red and puffy.

Warden bit his lip at seeing himself like this. He felt like crying himself. He sat on the floor, knees up to his chin, reflecting everything he has seen and remembered. His Father never gave him that comfort, that love a child yearned for when they're sick. He would just try and 'sleep it off', like a big boy, like an adult. But he wasn't an adult then. He was a child, and he never knew what that love felt like.

Outside his dream, the cool ice on his forehead started to turn to water, lowering his body temp, but he still felt feverish, and was starting to get the shivers.

Jailbot, who was sitting patiently, and, admittedly rather illogically, attempting to calm himself by reading a magazine. He shifted uneasily, scanning the Warden's limp frame. The ice that he had prepared was melting slowly, but more quickly than it would in room temperature, due to the intense heat of the fever.

The Warden's covers began to tremble slightly. The blocky, floating robot moved in to take a closer look. His master wasn't simply stirring - he was shaking. Tears welled up in his eyes, which were watering involuntarily. Jailbot didn't know whether he should try to cool the Warden down or try to warm him up. He gave his makeshift father a gentle nudge; the only response that it elicited was a slight jitter and a prick of tension.

Jailbot shed another pixellized tear. Taking care of the Warden was harder than he thought it would be...


	4. Chapter 4

His body trembled from both the fever and the dream he was having. In it he was still sitting on the floor of his old bedroom, watching his younger self struggle with the same fever he was fighting with now. He didn't know what he could do. He was in the understanding that his child-self couldn't see or hear him. He let out a heavy sigh.

"...Uh? ...Who's there?"

Warden jumped to his feet, startled. The little version of himself opened his eyes, and was looking right at him. There was moment of tense silence before either of them spoke.

"...Who're you?" Little Warden asked. His eyes were still wet with tears and his face was flushed from fever and crying.

Warden didn't know to say. he just stood there like a deer in headlights. He went to open his mouth, but the child then asked him, "Can you help me?"

Those words sounded odd to the Warden, coming from his child-self.

"Please...I don't feel good. My head hurts. And my father...he doesn't want to help me."

The situation, as strange and bizarre as it was, made the Warden see just how sad he was as a child. He felt sorry for himself, not in a self-loathing way, but more like he felt empathy for himself.

He walked towards the bed, seeing how his child-self looked up at him with red eyes. Sitting down, it felt just like how he remembered it, soft and slightly broken in. He didn't know what to say. What do you say to yourself? He thought about it for a bit.

"...I'd like to help..." He started, "...but what should I do?" His words were more like a private thought to himself more then anything.

But it still got a reply.

"Stay with me?"

Warden looked up, slightly confused.

"I hate to be alone when I'm like this." His child-self said, followed by little sniffles. Then, without so much as asking, the child sat up and wrapped both little arms around one of the Warden's arms, squeezing as hard he he could.

The man was taken back by this, but it didn't take long for him to understand, to remember the pain of feeling like that, having no one to really go to. He was all alone. Alone and ill.

'I wish I had someone that could help me.', he would said to himself. That was what he would repeat over and over again on nights like this. That, and, 'I wish I wasn't alone.' He wanted a friend, someone he could turned to, someone that would be willing to show that affection he lacked growing up. Someone to help him when he was down.

That's when the boy hanging onto his arm reached into a tiny pocket on the front of his PJs and pulled something out. The Warden looked down as the child handed it to him. It was a little Lego shaped figure, made with five light gray colored blocks, with a little smiley face for the head. It looked so big in the child's hand yet so small in his. Warden knew right away what it was. His first idea for his first real friend.

"Jailbot."

---

Just as Jailbot turned towards the wall, hopeless in his fight to revive his fallen friend, ready to go and slaughter a few inmates to take his mind off of his imminent failure...he heard the Warden speak.

A little beep of surprise caused his entire face to flash off for a split second. He had said /his name/! Rushing over to the bed with a sudden burst of speed. He backed up, tipping his blocky body towards the Warden's weak one.

Jailbot smiled shyly, his mouth drawn in a smile but his eyebrows still bunched with worry. He lifted a claw tentatively, trying to decide whether or not to nudge his sleeping 'parent'. He sucked the arm back in with a zipping noise; he pulled out another one - this one was tipped with a feather duster, just to be safe. It was probably one of his only arms that wasn't designed to rip flesh or burn fugitives to a crisp.

He gently brushed the Warden's face with it, hoping to elicit some sort of reaction.

He could feel the light feathers touching his face. He moved a bit, groaning before opening his eyes. The first thing he realized was he was in his room, and his forehead was chilly. He reached up and felt the towel wrapped in ice. Then he finally noticed Jailbot hovering next to his bedside. He still felt woozy, partly from the dream he just had, which still played through his mind, clear as day.

The last thing he remembered was the robot he was looking at right now. He stared at Jailbot for what seemed like forever before trying to sit up, but his limbs were numb. He was still weak from the fever. As he laid back down, something occurred to him. He looked back up at his loyal robot. He tried to speak, but even his voice felt tired. He just looked at Jailbot with a confused face and pointed at the bag of ice on his head.

Jailbot's face blipped in place, the pixels glowing at their brightest and best. Though his face was very simple, it conveyed what it needed to - that Jailbot had been there all along.

Warden created Jailbot, so he knew just what ever little 'bleep' and sound he made meant. He was surpirsed by this one though, it was his 'happy to see you again' sound. He rarely used it. The Warden let it sink in a bit. Jailbot was made to help him with Superjail. He was also created to protect him and the staff. But there were times, where even the Warden sees that his robot displayed actions that he didn't remember programing into him. Was he helping because he was programed to help, or was it something else? Warden doesn't recall adding anything in cause of suddenly illness. He tried his voice again, and this time it worked. "...Jail...bot? ...Why did you...help me?"

Jailbot hovered in place gently for a few seconds, the nervous little smile still on his face. He made a soft whirring as he hovered - a little bit of white noise. He knew only one way to get his point across. His screen flashed once, twice...he changed the colors of his light emitting diodes...soon, where his face had once been, there was a slightly sloppy, but still recognizable, pixel-lated heart.

Warden's brows perked up. Since when did he program that into Jailbot?

He didn't.

He didn't know what to say, but he got the message. He let his head sink down into his pillows. He recalled the dream he just had. No, it was indeed a memory; a memory he had locked up for a long time. It was nights like that, when he was sick with fever, scared in the middle of the night and his father wouldn't offer the comfort he wanted, that he wished for a real friend. So at the time, with his own little hands, he made a friend, out of those five blocks, and kept them with him at all times. Even after his father's death, he continued to hang onto that 'mini-version' of the robot that hovered before him.

Warden looked back up at Jailbot, and after a moment he slowly sat up, catching the towel full of half melted ice as it dropped off his forehead. He set his feet on the floor and tried to stand, but started to feel faint again.

Jailbot made a sad tinkling noise, noticing the Warden's futile attempt to get back on his feet. His face switched back to a frown. He offered his feather duster hand to the Warden, quickly realizing his mistake and switching to another hand, this one tipped with a simple two-pronged claw.

Jailbot reached out his hand, but then retracted it quickly back into his body cavity. He had a better plan. He gave a little beeping noise, as if to say 'I'll be back in a second.', smashed through the floor, adding yet another thing he needed to fix to his list, and zoomed straight into the Warden's office. He grabbed the Warden's gold-topped cane, then rocketed right back up through the floor. He smiled, offering it to his creator.

Warden, after a little shaken from Jailbot smashing the floor, again, noticed his cane in his robot's metal claw. He looked at it, then at Jailbot's smiling pixel face. A small smile appeared on his face as he took the cane. The cane was normally just for show, but in this case, it worked in helping him stand on his own two feet.

He took a moment to find his balance before making his way to his desk located on the other end of the room, with Jailbot floating behind him, making sure he didn't fall again. He opened the top drawer, looked through it, closed it, opened the second one, looked, closed, then thought for a moment.

Jailbot watched the Warden rummage through his desk, making sure to spot him in case he stumbled. The robot made a curious tinkling noise as he looked over his master's shoulder, trying to guess what he could be doing.

Warden's eyes lit up as he remembered. He slowly kneeled down, reaching behind the desk. He press a tiny button hidden behind the desk, which caused a small compartment to pop up on the desk's surface. There was a old wooden box inside, aged with time.

Warden got back up, took the box out from it's hiding place. It was no bigger then a cigar box. He opened it up. Inside were pieces from his past; trinkets from his childhood, some of which he's forgotten. He reached he hand in and picked up the same tiny block figure he has seen in his dream. He presented it to Jailbot.

The moment the Warden pulled out the tiny model of Jailbot, the real thing didn't know how to process the information he had been given. He opened his side compartments and pointed to himself. The Warden nodded feebly, but certainly.

It took a moment for the gears and drives in the robot's system to find it, but he has seen that little figurine before.

Deep in his memory bank, he recalled the day he was first booted up. The Warden was standing in front of him, and they were in a large room, somewhere deep in Superjail, back when it was first build. The first thing the robot saw was the purple clad man, smiling from ear to ear like a child who just got his Christmas presents early. He was holding that same little block toy, in which is raised it up to Jailbot's view, pointed at it, and then to the robot.

"This is you. Your name is JAILBOT. Understand? Your job is to help me run my jail. You'll be my..." He paused for moment. "...my friend."

That was Jailbot's first memory of the Warden, and the day he was first turned on and given a name. It was a important memory file to him, and for reasons even he couldn't grasp, it was what made him feel needed and important to his 'father'.

Jailbot smiled, a little pixel-lated tear falling from his eye. He had tried his best to provide a healing touch instead of his usual hurting one. Jailbot knew at this moment that he had succeeded in his objective.

When Warden saw that Jailbot understood, he offered a smile, then said, "You stayed with me, didn't you?" He placed the little block toy inside one of his coat pockets. He began to feel faint again. "Jailbot, could you help me back to my bed?" He placed his hand on his head.

Jailbot nodded as best he could, not having a neck. He held the Warden's hand and squeezed it softly. Bobbing up and down gently, he guided the Warden back to his bed, smoothed out the covers, and stood back a bit.

This time, the Warden slipped off his shoes before laying back down and placing the bag of ice back on his head. He closed his eyes and sighed as he let his head rest. He opened them again to looked up at his faithful robot.

He was feeling sleepy again, his body signaling he needed rest if his fever was ever going to go away.

"...Jailbot? Could you do me one more favor?"

Jailbot made a soft tinkling noise, awaiting his request.

"I'm going to rest for a bit. Could you...stay with me? Just until I wake back up?"

Jailbot gave the Warden a gentle pat; a little beep of confirmation. He backed himself into the corner, watching over his father, grinning shyly.

He could already feel sleep taking over as his eyes started to get heavy. The last thing he saw before dozing off was Jailbot smiling back at him; his childhood wish, his first real best friend.

The ice soothed his forehead, granting him a sweet and peaceful slumber as his fever finally began to go down. For the first time, he felt that long needed affection he never got as a child. As he dreamed, he could hear the humming sounds Jailbot was making and the little computer noises he would make. He smiled in his sleep as Jailbot continued to watch over him.

END


End file.
